WILD SIDE: Former housing director packed up his desk and moved to the Hill Country to go after his dream – to work for Texas Parks and Wildlife
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Wednesday n May 5, 2010
thewichitan
your university n your voice
Study blasting education department ‘inadequate’ Chris Collins Managing Editor
“After we looked at the way things were scored, it didn’t look like we could improve much from it,” Simpson said. “At some MSU’s education department needs ur- point, you have to weigh how much time gent attention, according to a report re- and effort it takes and if it’s going to get you leased by The National Council on Teacher what you want. The state response was that this isn’t a value-adding experience.” Quality Thursday. Simpson said the education department The NCTQ, a self-appointed organization, reviewed the curriculum of about 60 was alerted to the study last fall. “We can’t meet their standards because private and public universities in Texas. Most schools, including Tarleton State Uni- of our already existing state standards,” he versity, Texas A & M, and Howard Payne said. All of the deans sent letters to the reUniversity, received similar evaluations. “To have this happen is disheartening,” searchers saying they were unwilling to parsaid Grant Simpson, chair of MSU’s Edu- ticipate in the study. The school’s national organization, Colleges of Education, concation Department. The deans of education from all schools See STUDY on page 6 in the study opposed the methodology.
NCTQ findings
n Teacher preparation programs with “strong overall design” were found at the following schools: Dallas Baptist University, Southern Methodist University, University of Texas – Pan American, and the University of Texas at Austin. n MSU was ranked among programs where “attention is needed” according to NCTQ. Others in the category included: Texas A&M – Commerce, Texas Christian University, and Texas Tech.
Dot-com courses redefine limits of higher education Chris Collins Managing Editor
Tim DeGroot, chair of the management program, thinks online classes are the wave of the future. But most of the MSU faculty have yet to catch on to the trend. DeGroot said it’s because some professors are wary of the technology or think it will be too difficult to set up and maintain. “Putting material online frees up resources, creates different kinds of discussion and opens up class time,” he said. “It’s good for students, too. They might have to do a little bit more work, but it’s bet-
See ONLINE on page 5
Brandon Seay For the Wichitan Several current and former MSU will hop a plane to California later in June to shoot a short film with a former Saved by the Bell cast member. Scott Hamilton, a former MSU student who now attends Texas A&M University, and his older brother Matt, an MSU graduate, created Save the Empire (STE) in 2006. STE, they said, is a film production company comprised of friends. Since its inception, STE’s cast and crew, who generally specialize in comedy and action, have made two featurelength films and a number of short pieces, including a series of documentaries called Lost Heroes. The documentaries “pay tribute to lost heroes of film and television, and the people who are way too obsessed with them,” Scott said. Matt came up with the idea for the original Lost Heroes documentary that
See FILM on page 5
State legislator slated to speak at commencement Brittany Walsh For the Wichitan
MSU will hold commencement for Spring 2010 graduates Saturday, May 15. The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. at Kay Yeager Coliseum, 1000 5th St. To date, the names of 689 graduates have been turned in to the Board of Regents for review. This number closely follows last May’s 690 figure. Representative Dan Branch, a member of the Texas House of Representatives from Dallas, will be keynote speaker. Branch was elected in 2002 and is currently representing downtown Dallas, uptown, near east Dallas as well as Highland Park and University Park. In addition to being a representative, Branch also
See COMMENCEMENT on page 6
Rented textbooks gain popularity among students Lara Lindemann For the Wichitan
Textbook costs are among the most troublesome of college expenditures. One textbook can cost up to $500, and students searching for ways to minimize their book store bills now have another option: renting. Recently, renting textbooks has become popular among students across the US and at MSU. The College Store manager Ken Little said they have given students the option to rent textbooks since last year. He said by renting rather than buying, students are able to get their books for half the price. “There were a lot of students who decided to go with the option of renting textbooks this semester,” Little said. “It was a big hit.” Little said that offering textbooks for rent keeps
See RENTED on page 3